January 2019 | #ForestProud
Pennsylvania Forestry Association
News You Can Use
Cheers to a prosperous New Year from your friends at the Pennsylvania Forestry Association! You won't want to miss information on our upcoming Conservation Banquet scheduled for March 2, 2019! See the details below.

Have news to share? Send it to cwright@versantstrategies.net.

#ForestProud
2019 Annual Conservation Banquet
"Raising funds for forestry education"
Saturday, March 2, 2019 | Genetti Hotel, Williamsport, PA
Activities start at 3:00 p.m.
Refreshments – Silent Auction – Card Games – Raffles— 50-50 Cash Drawing – Chainsaw Drawing – Door Prizes
At 5:00 p.m. Live Auction Starts
Come and bid! Great items for a worthy cause!
6:30 p.m. – Dinner Served

After Dinner - $10,000 Draw Down Raffle
This is the evening’s high point! Only 350 tickets are available! Your chance of winning is outstanding! Don’t miss this great time! 
Each $100 ticket includes your choice of a Prime Rib, Chicken Cordon Bleu, or Vegetarian dinner and door prizes. In addition, you have a chance at $10,000. A limited number of Guest Tickets are available for $45. Guests are eligible for door prizes and a special raffle drawing.

We again are offering Conservation Banquet Sponsorship with many that include complimentary Banquet Tickets:
Chestnut Sponsorship - $1000 - includes five dinner tickets
Black Cherry Sponsorship - $800 includes four dinner tickets
Sugar Maple sponsorship - $600 - Includes three dinner tickets
Red Oak Sponsorship - $400 - Includes two dinner tickets 
Hickory Sponsorship - $200 - includes one dinner ticket
Friends of PFA Sponsorship - ($25 - $199)

Please contact Caleb Wright (email and phone) to sign up for a Banquet Sponsorship.

The Pennsylvania Forestry Association depends on this event to finance its forest conservation mission and invests these dollars directly back to forestry education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Your support is important! To facilitate event planning, please purchase tickets and donate auction items early. All donations are GREATLY appreciated. This event is open to everyone, you need not be a PFA member to join the fun and have the possibility of winning $10,000. A ticket would make a great gift for family members or outstanding employees. Join with a few friends on a “pool” ticket. Ticket holders need not be present to win. Tickets go FAST, get yours today! Come and join the fun! 
Complete the reservation form and send it to the PFA Office by February 15, 2019.
In addition to the excitement of the $10,000 draw-down, you won’t want to miss going home with a souvenir from the live or silent auctions. This year, we will have plenty of rare and unique items up for auction including a completely refinished Thompson Center 50 Cal Hawken with a PFA emblem inlayed in the stock. 
Overnight accommodations...
Overnight accommodations are available at the Genetti Hotel. For room reservations, call the hotel directly at 1-800-321-1388 Ask for the PFA Conservation Banquet room rate!
PA Tree Farm Update
Harold and I (Gay) took over as Co-Chairs of the PA Tree Farm Committee as of January 1, 2019. We are excited and honored to serve in this position for the next two years. We have big shoes to fill. John and Maureen Burnham retired from their posts as Co-Chairs where they successfully guided the PA Tree Farm (PATF) through the National Tree Farm directive of “State’s Voice State’s Choice”. The PA Tree Farm Committee voted to up their game and become a third party certified program. We wholeheartedly thank them for their time and efforts in this successful transition and wish them the best in future endeavors.

In 2019, we plan to continue to add value to your membership in PATF. As John Burnham aptly pointed out, tree farmers use 3 tools to manage their woodlands: chainsaws, herbicides, and tractors. Acknowledging this, PATF will continue offering a discounted price to PA Tree Farmers who take SFI Game of Logging chainsaw safety courses (classes will start up again when the weather permits), Penn State Extension Educator Dave Jackson offered a webinar this January on safe use of herbicides which was free of charge to PA Tree Farmers, and we are working on offering either a webinar or live classes on tractor safety to our members. 

Inspectors for PA Tree Farm and the Area Chairs that manage inspections play a key role the success of the PATF certified program. Every certified tree farm needs to be inspected every 5 years to remain certified. Tree Farmers can choose their certified inspector from the PATF website. Inspectors and Area Chairs can help tree farmers outline how to meet PATF woodlot goals. 

We look forward to working with you. Stay tuned to “News You can Use” and other PA forestry publications for helpful information. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. Gay at gaythistle@gmail.com and Harold at hwthistle@gmail.com. Visit the PATF website for more contact information.  
PENNSYLVANIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION MEMORIAL FORESTRY EDUCATION FUND
Since 2014, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association has guided and administered the Lloyd Casey Memorial Fund, honoring Casey, a PFA Past President who was a dedicated forestry educator. The fund has supported project funding for forestry education workshops and projects that reflect Casey’s commitment to educating forest landowners. The Casey Fund received many donations from within the PFA organization, from Casey colleagues and friends, and from two partners: the Allegheny Society of American Foresters (SAF) and the National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA).

During 2017, the PFA received a very generous unrestricted donation from the estate of PFA Past President Bob Rumpf. With the review of the Casey family heirs, the Rumpf family heirs, The Allegheny SAF and the NWOA, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association agreed to merge the Casey Fund, the Rumpf donation and a small PFA Project Learning Tree earmark into a new PFA Memorial Forestry Education Fund. 

We are excited about the expanded possibilities that this merged fund has presented. During 2017, the fund provided significant project funding to two entities, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (which conducted three regional workshops for landowners on the Woods in Your Backyard), and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (which has completed Conservation Easement workshops with additional education in 2018). The 2018 funding round supported the innovative Walk in Penn’s Woods Partnership.

The overall aim of the new fund reflects that of the original, but the new memorial fund significantly expands opportunities for forest education workshops and projects in Pennsylvania. We especially invite our members and friends to donate to the new fund; please help us help the owners of Penn’s Woods take care of our future forest! We also invite allied organizations to apply for funds to carry out your forestry education projects and workshops. Contact PFA Memorial Forestry Education Fund Committee Chair. Mike Powell, ( mjp175@psu.edu) for application details.
Forestry News You Can Use
US - Chinese Trade War Tariff Update
On September 24, 2018, China implemented additional tariffs on over 5,000 U.S. products worth $60 billion. The levies cover certain logs and chips at either a 5% or 10% rate. Tariff rates are 10% for most hardwood lumber and logs. These tariffs were in retaliation to the 10% duty placed on $200 billion of Chinese goods by the U.S. and follow two previous rounds of tariffs between the two countries. On August 23, China implemented tariffs on $16 billion worth of U.S. goods, which included a levy of 25% on Southern Yellow Pine logs. Chinese tariffs on U.S. products worth $34 billion went into effect on July 6.
Prior to the implementation of the tariffs, U.S. log export markets were concentrated in China, which was the largest importer of both U.S. softwood and hardwood logs.

U.S.-China trade talks are scheduled for the week of January 2019. Should the two countries fail to come to an agreement, the most recent September U.S. levies will escalate to 25% in March 2019. Should China retaliate, the Trump administration has threatened additional tariffs on $267 billion worth of Chinese merchandise. It is unknown how China will respond to these actions. 

Source: Forisk Consulting
1958 forestry class donates over $100K for Open Doors Scholarship
MONT ALTO, Pa. — Twelve members of the Forestry Class of 1958 recently celebrated their 60th reunion at the Mont Alto campus. Besides reconnecting with each other and the campus, their time together also resulted in a group gift of $34,233 that, thanks to a University match, transformed into a $102,669 Open Doors Scholarship to support Mont Alto students who are facing financial hardships and are at risk of not completing their degrees.

The seed of the idea came after learning about Penn State’s current fundraising campaign, “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” from Campus Development Director Randall Ackerman. He explained that Open Doors Scholarships created with a minimum gift of $30,000 would be matched 2:1 by the University through June 30, 2018, increasing the value of the gift three-fold.

“A small group of classmates were talking during our reunion when Jack Zimmerman suggested the scholarship idea,” said Ralph Heilig, who has coordinated the class reunions for the past 12 years.

"The other alumni agreed. The word was passed around to the remaining class members. We quickly came up with $30,000 and it was then suggested that we push for the additional $3,334 required to obtain a $100,000 scholarship,” he said.

Heilig is proud to mention that, at their request, the University allowed the group to establish the scholarship not as just a “graduating class” but as a “graduating class of foresters.”

“As far as we know, no other group from the same graduating class has done this,” he said. “So, we think we’re the first and hopefully it will start something.”

Members of the class and others who donated to the scholarship include: Rolph Anderson; Ralph Heilig and Marie Wolson; Maurice (Bill) and Irene Hobaugh; Richard and Dorothy Hunter; Ralph and Gisela Peace; Lou and Bobbi Shain; Paul Shogren; George Siehl; Bob Slagle; Chuck and Carol Strauss; Pat Werner, wife of the late Richard Werner; John Zimmerman; and Penn State Mont Alto faculty members Craig Houghton and Elizabeth Brantley.

“I think it would be accurate to say that the Forestry Class of 1958 is the most engaged alumni group I have ever seen,” said Penn State Mont Alto Chancellor Francis K. Achampong. “Now they have taken their engagement to another level by infusing it with philanthropy to enhance student access to a Penn State education."

Heilig describes the group as having “esprit de corps” — the common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion and strong regard for the honor of the group.

Those ingredients and more continue to bring members of the Class of 1958 together, including their pride in Penn State and common interest and experiences as foresters, appreciation for their early training at the Mont Alto Campus, and respect for each other and their former faculty members.

EVENTS - MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The Legacy of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests: THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS
The Pennsylvania Forestry Association is partnering with the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation on a campaign to fund a decades long back log of critical infrastructure improvements in our State Forests and State Parks.

The cornerstone of this effort is a report titled, "The Legacy of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests: THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS". See the initial report here. This will be unveiled at a legislative ceremony at the State Capitol Rotunda, 1:00 PM, Monday, Jan 28th. PFA members are invited to attend!

From the report:

Outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania supports over 250,000 jobs and generates $29.1 billion in annual consumer spending. Despite these many documented benefits of our parks and forests, they suffer from decades of “making do.” Aging buildings are in disrepair, bridges are washed out, and more than 47 dams are considered to be high hazard. These special places, which are guaranteed to all Pennsylvanians through the Environmental Rights Amendment to Pennsylvania’s Constitution, need attention.

Any investment—like your own car or home—requires regular maintenance to retain its value. We need to keep the roof from leaking and periodically change the oil in the car. For state parks and forests, that same regular maintenance means investments in our roads, bridges, trails, beaches, and campgrounds. It means managing for invasive plants and diseases, and restoring landscapes from past industrial uses. For less than $8 per year per resident, we can keep our parks and forests clean and safe, and open for business.

The "The Legacy of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests: THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS" Report outlines the history of our parks and forests and the visionary leadership that created a system that supports Pennsylvania’s economy while improving human health and quality of life. It’s a story of success and need, and an opportunity to continue the legacy of conservation for which Pennsylvania is known.
PA Tree Farm Inspector Webinar
Tree Farm Inspector - Inspection Training: A Paperwork Perspective
Date and Time:
February 26, 2019, Noon
Description:
Since the Pennsylvania Tree Farm Program has moved to a fee-based program and is now providing incentive payments to inspectors who complete inspections there have been a lot of questions concerning proper procedures to be followed. This 30-minute training is being offered to clarify the process and procedures inspectors are to follow, particularly from a paperwork processing perspective. A Live session will be hosted at Noon. If you are unable to attend the live session, the training will be recorded and shared with all PA Tree Farm Inspectors. This training webinar is being offered by the Pennsylvania Forestry Association: Tree Farm Committee.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:  https://psu.zoom.us/j/486763910 
 
Or Telephone:
  Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): 
    US: +1 646 876 9923 or +1 669 900 6833 
  Webinar ID: 486 763 910
Webinar series will help landowners care for their woods
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Do you have woods in your backyard? Penn State research estimates that nearly half a million Pennsylvanians own a small patch of woodland -- something less than 10 acres in size. In fact, the vast majority of Pennsylvania landowners have fewer than 10 acres. These small patches add up to about a million acres, or about 10 percent, of our state’s privately held woodlands.

The "Woods in Your Backyard" webinar series teaches land stewardship through eight live, one-hour, online evening lectures that can be viewed on your home computer. Sessions run from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday nights for eight weeks beginning Feb. 6. All lectures are recorded and can be viewed later if a live session is missed. 

Sponsored by Penn State Extension and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay: Forests for the Bay Program, the webinar series is designed specifically, but not exclusively, for smaller landscapes. These small lots, whether wooded or not, can provide numerous benefits. By enhancing wooded areas or creating natural areas on your property, you can enjoy wildlife, recreation, aesthetics, improved water quality and reduced energy costs. Owners of even the smallest landscapes can make a positive difference in their environment through planning and implementing simple stewardship practices.

The workshop series introduces the manual, “The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home.” All participants will receive the full-color, 108-page publication, a $29 value. This self-directed book will guide you through the process of developing and implementing projects to enhance your land’s natural resources.

Topics covered in the webinars will include the following:

• Woods and healthy watersheds. 
• Tree and shrub identification.
• Providing and enhancing wildlife habitat.
• Forest ecology and soils.
• Woodlot management techniques.
• Invasive plant identification and control.
• Converting open land to meadows and woods.

For more information and to register, visit the Penn State Extension website at https://extension.psu.edu/woods-in-your-backyard-webinar-series or call 877-345-0691. The registration deadline is Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019.
International Mass Timber Conference
What: International Mass Timber Conference
When: March 19-21, 2019
Where: Oregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97232

(Missoula, MT, October 1, 2018) - The 4th Annual International Mass Timber Conference will take place March 19-21, 2019 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland Oregon. The largest gathering of industry professionals of its kind, IMTC is the premier source for the latest news and innovative thinking on mass timber manufacturing and residential and commercial construction. IMTC 2018 set records for attendance, exhibitors and sponsors as the development and use of mass timber products continues to grow.

The International Mass Timber Conference is the largest gathering of cross-laminated timber and other mass timber experts in the world, with a special focus on manufacturing and mid- to high-rise construction. Over 1,200 experts from 22 countries attended in 2018. IMTC 2019 will feature over 70 industry speakers, plus over 70 exhibitors, and attendance from around the world representing timber, lumber, construction and designer/architect professionals exploring the latest innovations in cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail-laminated timber, glulam beams and panels, mass plywood panels, dowel-laminated timber, and laminated veneer lumber. The conference will also feature two separate mass timber building tours of local projects.  

IMTC is produced by Forest Business Network in cooperation with the wood design experts at WoodWorks-Wood Products Council. The conference is supported by Premier Sponsors including Hexion, Swinerton Builders, Katerra, and Kallesoe along with major sponsors D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations, Freres Lumber Co. MPP, Sansin, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Sterling, and Oregon Forest Resources Institute.

About Forest Business Network:
FBN is a top-tier consultancy, event marketing, and news and information source in the forest products sector. Its weekly email newsletter is a go-to news resource for global industry professionals. FBN’s president and CEO, Craig Rawlings, is a nationally recognized expert in under-utilized timber and biomass.

About WoodWorks-Wood Products Council:
WoodWorks (www.woodworks.org) provides free one-on-one project assistance as well as education and resources related to the code-compliant design of non-residential and multi-family wood buildings. WoodWorks technical experts offer support from design through construction on a wide range of building types, including mid-rise/multi-residential, educational, commercial, corporate, institutional and public.
In the news
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and city officials have scheduled a series of meetings over the next four months in each of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods to gather input on enhancing city parks. Officials want to develop an equitable approach to investing in the park... -  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-15) has for the third consecutive Congress introduced a bill that is intended to “ensure further protections for private property owners and energy producers in the Allegheny National... -  Warren Times Observer

Sometimes, Pennsylvania’s first female state forester gazes out the backyard window of her Manheim Township home and dwells on a European beech tree. The tree brings Ellen Shultzabarger calm. That’s a good thing because she’s responsible for 2.2 million acres of the commonwealth’s state... -  Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
The Pennsylvania Forestry Association | 1(800) 835-8065 | thePFA@paforestry.org | www.paforestry.org